


At a Crossroads

by SassyandSweet



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-25 16:35:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22259338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyandSweet/pseuds/SassyandSweet
Summary: Poe Dameron is everything a Resistance Airforce pilot should be. Daring, courageous, and loyal. Then Belle Solo walked into his life and turned his world upside down. As the daughter of the General it was his job to keep her safe, that is until she gives him an ultimatum.Belle Solo, twin sister to Ben Solo AKA Kylo Ren, took a job as his tattoo shop after she and Poe split. Walking away was the hardest thing she had done, and it had not changed her for the better. She was content to be miserable though. That is until a new girl opens up an Antiques store next door. And something about the girl really sets off her brother.Basically Rey and Co. open up an Antiques/Thrift Store beside First Order Tattooing. Drama Ensues.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Finn/Rose Tico, Jannah/finn, Poe Dameron & Finn & Rey, Poe Dameron & Leia Organa & Han Solo, Poe Dameron/Original Female Character(s), Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It begins.

Belle can already feel her head start to throb as she walks into First Order Tattooing to start her day. She tried willing it away as she unlocked the front door, flipping on the lights as she walked through the building to the back office. She currently handles all of the books and ordering, because the Maker knows that Ben and his band of morons would never be able to do it on their own. She didn't plan for things to turn out this way, she used to work with her mom in Government during the war. She handled the delivery of Top Secret instructions, of course that was back before Snoke was defeated and his Army disintegrated. If she were to be completely honest, she doesn't even remember what the war was fought over. She just knew she wanted out before it destroyed everything, everyone, she loved. So that's how she ended up at First Order Tattooing. She had met a man, fell in love, failed at that, so she ran away.

Belle sighed, looking at the paperwork that Ben had yet again failed to sign. Shaking her head she put all the papers that needed his signature together, hoping to catch him before his first client. Setting them aside, she settled in to start her day. While she handled mainly paperwork, she was also trained, and highly skilled, at piercings. She and Gwen handled most of the piercings, while Ben, Hux, and Jannah took care of the tattooing. There used to be a few others who worked with them, but they usually didn't stay long. They were a tight knit group and it was hard to break in. Jannah could attest to that. If it hadn't been for the fact that she was dating Finn, she probably never would have stuck around like she did. After their break up, Jannah stuck around on principle. Finn was the one at fault. He was the traitor.

The sound of the door bell brought her out of the thoughts. Moving back to the front of the building, Belle caught sight of her brothers shaggy dark hair, and a flash of bright blonde. "Yeah. I can do that Phas." She heard him telling Gwen, who was going by Phasma this week.

"Do what?" She asked, looking them both over. Ben was wearing all black as per usual, but a short sleeve shirt that showed the tattoos lining his arms, while Gwen, sorry Phasma, was wearing black leather pants that accentuated her long legs perfectly, topped with a pretty, maroon top that was more straps than anything else.

"I have this piece I want done, and you know your brothers a god with a tattoo gun, so I asked him if he'd be able to do it." Phasma told her, pulling the picture up on her phone.

"That he is." Belle said, thinking about the piece on her back that he did for her. Turning to Ben she handed him the papers, "Sign these so I can get them sent out. I'm tried of having to chase you down to get a signature."

"Yeah, yeah." He rolled his eyes, signing the forms.

"Oh, also if all of your accounts are open under the name Kylo Ren, then that's how you should sign your name dumbass." She said, thinking about the conversation with the electric company.

"Hey," he said, turning to her and kissing her on the forehead, "Chill. Things are fine. You stress out way too much."

"And you don't?" Gwen asked, from where she was looking out the window. "Oh, did you here that Maz sold the thrift store?"

"She did?" Ben asked, glancing at Belle.

Belle shrugged. "She said something about it the last time I was at mom's for dinner."

Ben grunted in response, not happy that Belle still went to family dinners. He himself quit a long time ago, having had a falling out with his dad. He only showed up at his parents house if his mom tracked him down and forced him now. Belle only went if she knew that _HE_ wasn't going to be there. He didn't understand why his sister still put herself through the family drama. "Who cares. As long as they leave us alone, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Who knows, maybe one of the new owners is a cute guy?" Gwen said shrugging as Hux walked though the door causing the bell to go off again.

"Well if you're talking about our new neighbors then you are not going to be happy." Hux said in his usual uptight tone. For a dude who worked in a tattoo shop you'd think he wouldn't be so uptight, but here we are.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked, handing the signed papers back to Belle, crossing his arms across his chest.

"I saw your mother walk in with the traitor and some girl." Hux said, the distaste clear in his voice.

Ben and Belle shared a look. "Our mother?"

"Why would she be with Finn?" Belle asked, moving to look out the window. Sure enough, her car sat out front of the building next door.

"Well, why don't you go ask her?" Gwen asked, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I mean after all, someone is going to have to go talk to them eventually. We do share internet and parking with Maz. Should probably find out if that's still happening, or if we should change the wifi password."

"Fuck." Ben muttered, looking at Belle. "Please don't make me."

Belle crossed her arms. "If I have to go, so do you."

"Belle, if I see him I'm going to hit him."

"Then we'll deal with the girl. I'm not going by myself Ben."

It was clear to everyone in the room that Belle had won this particular fight. Since he'd changed his name to Kylo Ren, she didn't call him Ben in public anymore. Not unless she was extremely upset, or wasn't taking his shit. If his name came out, he usually did what ever if was that she asked, mainly to keep her from getting too upset. He may seem like this angsty emo kid with anger management problems, but when if came to his twin he'd do anything to keep her safe and happy. It had caused problems in some of his previous relationships with how close he and Belle were. They didn't understand that no matter what happens, he knew she was the one he could count on, just as he was for her. Even if they had no one, they'd have each other.

"Fine, let's go visit the traitor." Ben said, moving to the door. "We're not fucking sharing internet anymore."

~~~

"Stay calm." Belle told him as they stood outside of the door to the antiques shop. "We're just here to talk to them about parking, and let them know that they will need their own Internet."

"I know." 

"We're not here to fight. With Finn or mom."

"I know."

"Ben, I'm serious." Belle said, grabbing her brother to face her. "I'm not here to make an already bad situation worse. We still have to tell Jannah before..."

"Tell me what?" A voice asked from behind her. 

Belle turned around and came face to face with Jannah. She was wearing a First Order Tattooing t-shirt over shorts, her hair and make-up done the same way she does is everyday, wild like her. She looked happy. It took a long time after she and Finn split for her to even smile without the help of alcohol and here he was again to fuck up her life. 

"Ben, why don't you go ahead inside while I catch Jannah up?" Belle asked, turning back to her brother, ignoring the face he made at her. "I'll be right behind you."

"Ben huh?" Jannah asked, as Ben walked into the shop. "What's going on?"

"So, I'm not going to beat around the bush." Belle told her friend. "You deserve to know what's going on, and you deserve to hear it from us."

"B. Whats going on?"

"Maz sold the antiques store." Belle said, watching the confusion cloud her friends face. "To Finn."

Jannah's expression went from confused to cold in an instant. "Oh. Well good for him I guess."

"Jannah..." Belle said, reaching out to put a hand on her arm. She let her hand fall as Jannah took a step back to avoid the touch. 

"I'm going to go to work." She said, turning her back to Belle.

Belle sighed watching her friend walk into the tattoo parlor. 'My head is starting to throb again.' She thought, just as she heard yelling coming from the antiques shop. Belle sighed again, walking into the shop to see her brother and a pretty brunette screaming at each other. Finn was standing beside the girl looking just as angry, while her mother sat in one of the chairs the store sold. She crossed her arms and leaned back against the door. This was going to take a while. 

"You're going to call the cops on me?" Ben asked sarcastically. "I'm not afraid of you little girl. You're nothing but a little scavenger. At least I know how to run a fucking business."

"What a dirty tattoo parlor in the middle of nowhere? I'm real impressed." The girl snapped back, the accent startling Belle. 

Belle opened her mouth to say something as the back door opened and there stood the one man she never wanted to see again. Poe Dameron. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So go easy on me. I haven't written anything in a long time, but I'm currently in love with Poe Dameron and no other creative outsource.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm literally making this up as I go, so if it doesn't make sense that's absolutely why.   
> Also excuse my grammar and spelling, I'm trying to do this on top of the rest of my life, so things might slip.   
> Enjoy!

It was in this moment Belle was glad that she hadn't gotten the chance to speak. No one had acknowledged the fact that she had walked into the building, so no one saw her reaction to seeing him for the first time in 3 years. She was frozen where she stood, not wanting to draw attention to herself, but also not wanting to be in the same room as the man who broke her heart. 

"What's going on?" Poe asked, scanning the room freezing when he saw her. 

No one answered. Ben was glaring at Poe, completely forgetting about the argument he was just in with the shop girl. Finn and the girl, both looking confused at the sudden tension radiating off of both Leia and Ben. "It's fine Poe. This asshole was just leaving." The girl said, glaring at Ben. 

Poe glanced at Ben, his eyes widening for just a moment before turning his attention back to Belle. Ben followed his gaze and saw his sister, looking like she was on the verge of breaking down. Poe took a step forward, almost as if he were moving towards her, and Ben snapped. Moving towards Poe, he shoved him back before punching him in the jaw. The entire room erupted. 

"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!" Ben yelled at Poe who was lying on the floor, surprised from the punch.

"WHO ARE YOU?" The girl screamed. 

"WHAT THE FUCK REN?" Came from Finn. 

Leia glanced back at her daughter for the first time, and realized what was happening. She moved toward Ben, who had grabbed Poe by the scruff of his neck ready to hit him again. She put her hand on his arm. "That's enough, let him go."

Ben didn't move, and Poe stared back at him unflinchingly.

"Stop." Belle said quietly, drawing attention to herself for the first time. She moved to her brothers side, pulling him away from Poe. "That's enough Kylo."

Ben glanced down at his sister and saw the fierceness coming back into her eyes. He nodded and took a step back, letting go of Poe. He watched as his sister glanced at Poe before turning her attention to him. She fussed over him for a moment before pushing him towards the door. "You go, I'll handle this. It would look bad for business if he sues you for assault." she said quietly. 

She was trying not to be heard, but the girl Ben had been talking to chimed in. "You bet your ass he'll be pressing charges." 

Belle sighed as Ben took the bait. "Back off Scavenger, it's not your business."

"Get the hell out!" She yelled at him, pointing at the door.

"Yeah, well at least I know I don't work with traitors." Ben told her. "It's interesting that you've surrounded yourself with men, must say something about you."

The girl, red faced after Ben basically called her a whore, turned towards Belle after he walked out the door. She was getting ready to kick Belle out, but stopped when she walked towards Leia. "Hi mom." Belle said, kissing the woman cheek. 

"Mom?" Finn and the girl asked at the same time. 

"Finn, Rey, meet my daughter Belle." Leia said gesturing.

"I actually already know Finn." Belle said, looking towards Rey. "It's nice to meet you though."

"Wish I could say the same." Rey said, crossing her arms across her chest. 

"Yeah, I'm sorry about him. I'm still trying to teach him his manners." Belle said dryly. "Let me give you a bit of advice though. Never let a man talk to you the way my brother just did. If you let one do it, they'll all do it. Doesn't matter if they play the good guy or not." Belle glanced at Poe, who was rolling his eyes. "And by then they'll have your mother so in love with them that she still invites him over for dinners."

"Oh now." Leia said, rolling her eyes at Belle. "This has nothing to do with that."

"Let's not air our dirty laundry for everyone to see." Poe muttered. 

Belle glared at Poe, missing the look that Rey and Finn shared. They knew that there was a girl in Poe's past, one that had really done a number on him, but she was not what they had imagined. The only girls they had ever seen him with, and let's be honest the mans a hoe so there were a lot, were all blonde. They were super model tall, slim, and typically had an accent. The total opposite of this girl. Where the others were light, she was dark. Belle had long dark curls that ended at her waist, helping emphasize that while her waist was slim, the rest of her was not (in all the right places Finn might add, while Rey would punch him). She was also much shorter than most people, which is why everyone is always surprised that she and Ben are twins (the fucking tree). 

Belle rolled her eyes turning back to Rey. "I really am sorry for all of this. We just wanted to clear some things up with you. We had a deal with Maz where we shared internet with her, but I can promise that B..Kylo's not going to want to do that with you." 

"Yeah," Rey said, rolling her eyes. "What the fuck is his problem?"

"Finn." Belle answered, pointing at the man in question. 

"But he punched Poe?!"

"His issue with Poe is a separate issue." Leia chimed in from where she was sitting. "One that's not involved with this conversation."

Rey nodded, wanting to know everything, but not wanting to push back against Leia. After all if it wasn't for Leia she wouldn't have the building. "So what's his problem with Finn?"

"It's not important." Finn told her, "We'll get our own services Belle."

"Okay." She said, turning to look at Poe. "Are you going to...?"

"No." He said, ignoring Rey's annoyed yell.

"Thanks."

Leia watched the exchange happen. Two of her favorite people who were once so in love you couldn't see one without the other now couldn't even carry on a full conversation. She'd never been given a full reason as to what had happened, she just knew that if she invites Poe to the house, Belle declines the invitation. She once invited them both and didn't tell them, that had not gone over well. She's still finding pieces of her favorite vase, that Belle had thrown at Poe, in her kitchen. "Sweetheart." 

"Yeah mom?" 

"Are you coming to dinner tonight?" 

"I can't." Belle said, thinking that all she wanted to do tonight is drown herself in wine, and pretend the world doesn't exist. "I have plans with a friend."

"Well, we'll miss you." Leia said sighing, "Your father wants to see you soon."

"I know mama." Belle said, kissing her mother on the forehead, "I really do have to get to work though."

Finn looked like he wanted to say something, but shook his head when Rey looked at him questioningly. Rey watched as Belle hugged her mom before turning towards her and Finn, completely ignoring Poe. 

"I really am sorry about my brother." 

"I'm not going to say it's fine, because it's not, but let's move forward from here." Rey said, extending her hand towards Rey. "As long as you're the only one I have to deal with."

"Fair enough." Belle said, taking Rey's hand and shaking firmly before moving to the door.

"Belle." Finn finally said, "Does she still work there?"

Belle tilted her head to the side, looking at Finn. She could see the worry in his face, but she couldn't tell exactly what he was worried about. "Yeah."

Finn nodded and Belle walked out the door.

Belle didn't even hear the door close before a hand grabbed her arm. She swung around and came face to face with the one person she really didn't want to see. Poe looked down at her, annoyance clear on his face. She wanted to jerk her arm away from him, and she wanted to slap him, but she couldn't bring herself to do either. She could see a bruise starting on his face where Ben hit him and had to fight the urge to run her fingers over it. It would be far to easy to let her hands wander from that point. She had to remind herself why she left in the first place. 

"Are you really going to avoid me?" He asked her, the annoyance bleeding into his voice as well. "For fucks sake Belle, I'm going to be working next door to you. You're not going to be able to keep avoiding me."

"How's Zorii?" She asked, with a tilt of the head and a tone in her voice. 

Poe let go of her arm as if she had burned him. He glared at her as the door to First Order opened and Hux stepped out. Hux could literally feel the tension radiating off of them. This was the type of situation he loves to avoid, and could be avoiding this one right now if it wasn't for Ren's temper. He was currently throwing things inside. Hux figured if the shop were to open at all today then he'd better get Belle to calm him down before he literally tore the walls down. 

"Is everything all right?" 

"It's fine Hux." Belle said, still staring at the dark haired man in front of her. "Poe was just going back inside."

"We need to talk Belle." Poe told her, refusing to back down. 

"No, we really don't." She told him, shaking her head. "It's over and done with, let's just move on. You work in the building next to mine, that's all this is and all it's going to be. We don't have to talk. We can just pretend we don't know each other."

"That's not going to work for me." Poe said, right as the window shattered.

Belle spun around to see the entire store front window of First Order laying all over the sidewalk. She could hear Jannah and Gwen yelling at Ben, while Hux was just staring at the shards of glass like he was exhausted with life. Belle sighed, hearing her brother continue his temper tantrum. "Kylo you literally punched through a window you need to go to the hospital!" 

"Today's never going to end is it?" Belle muttered to herself. She glanced back at Poe, who was staring at the glass laying all over the ground with an amused look on his face. "What?"

Poe put his hands up in surrender, seeing the annoyance cloud her face. "He just hasn't changed has he?"

"Shut up." she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "You're the one that has him pissed off in the first place."

He rolled his eyes and took a step towards her, his expression returning to seriousness. "We do need to talk Belle."

"Fine." She sighed. "I'll be back here tonight at 10 to clean up this mess. If you're not here, then this conversation will never happen. Understand?"

"Understood." 

~~~

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Belle asked, smacking Ben in the back of the head. "Do you have any idea how much your temper tantrum is going to cost us?"

Ben rolled his eyes, leaning back on the ER bed. He knew as soon as he'd done it that he was going to get a lecture, but it's not like he meant to break the window. He honestly didn't even know it was possible he'd only seen it on movies. Belle was pacing in front of him, anxious as usual. The truth was, his temper tantrum wasn't just because of Poe, that stupid girl had already riled him up and then Dameron showed up. Ben never had any real control over his temper, not by himself anyway. That's why he and Belle were so close, she grounded him, and he made sure people didn't walk all over her. And when they fought, well let's just say people are lucky it doesn't happen very often. 

"It's fine Belle." He said, waving his non-injured hand. "We have the money. I just feel bad for the guys having to clean up my mess."

"They'll get over it." She said, chewing on her thumb nail. 

Ben watched her for a moment. He could see the anxiety shining underneath the anger, something was up. They had been in the Emergency Room for 4 hours already and they were still waiting for the doctor to come in and pull the glass from his hand. So that was 4 hours of listening to Belle yell at him and watching her pace around the room. "Okay, you need to sit the fuck down before I lose my mind."

"What?"

"Belle, you've been pacing around this room since we got here." He told her, exasperation clear in his voice. "What's up, because I know that this," He said, gesturing toward her, "isn't because I'm hurt."

Belle was silent. He was right, she wasn't anxious because Ben was hurt, he hurts himself all the time. It's because she agreed to meet Poe later. It would be the first time in 3 years that they'd be alone together. She knew she wasn't ready for it, knew that she'd either say or do something that she was going to regret, but she also knew that she wasn't ready to tell Ben that she'd agreed to meet with Poe. 

"It's nothing." Belle said, sitting down to appease her brother. "I still can't believe you punched through that window. Either you're a lot stronger than I thought, or that's just a shitty window."

Ben knew she was lying to him, and he knew that she was changing the subject. What he didn't know is why his sister, his other half and absolute favorite human was lying to him all of a sudden. He tilted his head, trying to ignore the anger that was building, and made eye contact with her. She knew that he knew she was lying.

"Is this about Dameron?" He asked, ignoring her comment about the window. I mean after all it was a shitty window, because there's no way. 

Belle looked at the floor. "It really doesn't matter Ben."

"Because if it's about Dameron, you know I'll make sure that he stays away from you. You know that."

"Ben, just give it a rest." Belle snapped, causing Ben jerk his head up, taking in the annoyed expression on her face. "I'm just not ready to talk about it yet."

"Okay." He told her after a few moments of silence. "Whenever you're ready."

~~~

Belle parked her car in front of First Order Tattooing at 9:45pm. She glanced at the store beside theirs, and saw that all of the lights were off. She tried to calm her nerves as she got out of her car and locked it. She shook her head as she walked towards the front door after noticing the boards that Hux and Gwen had put across the window. She rolled her eyes, knowing that they had all had to cancel their appointments until they can get the window properly fixed. And that would be at least 2 days according to the people she had contacted while at the hospital. 

Belle jumped, hearing a cough come from behind her. Whirling around she came face to face with Poe. He looked good, but then again he always looks good. He nodded at the door, clearly not wanting to have this conversation on the street. She nodded, turning around to unlock the door before holding it open and letting him walk in first. 

"Ben okay?" He asked, after a few moments of watching Belle flip through some papers in the back office. 

"Yeah, the doctor told him he was a moron and that he's lucky he didn't break his hand. He won't be doing any tattooing for a couple of days though. " She said, not looking up at him. 

Belle was flipping through papers she had gone through that morning. She was hoping he'd say his piece and leave without having to interact too much. That clearly wasn't what Poe wanted, seeing as he put his hand down in the middle of the papers causing her to look up. 

"Would you at least look at me?" He asked her, moving his hand off of the papers. When he realized he had her attention he spoke. "I miss you kid."

"Oh please." she said, rolling her eyes. 

"Don't do that." He said, running a hand through his hair as he paced. "Don't play this off like we were nothing. We were great together Belle. I would have given you whatever you wanted, but you walked away!"

Belle shot out of her chair. "I gave you a choice! You chose wrong!"

"How the hell was I supposed to know that you were giving me some sort of fucking test?!" he yelled back. "I never knew what the fuck you were thinking. How the hell did I fail a test I didn't even know I was taking. Not to mention that the choices you gave me weren't exactly fucking fair."

"Not fair?!" Belle exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "I was ready to spend the rest of my life with you! I wanted you to choose me! I didn't give a shit about the rest of it Poe."

"I did choose you!"

"You really don't fucking get it do you?" She asked shaking her head. 

"NO!" He yelled, "Why don't you fucking enlighten me?!"

Belle stared at him a moment. She saw the red in his face and that curl that fell over his forehead, the one she wanted to push back. He really didn't get it. He didn't understand that all she had wanted was to be important to him. She wanted to know that if push came to shove that he'd believe her, that he'd choose her first. Not in the 'I have to be top priority above everything else way', because let's be honest that's unrealistic. She sighed, sitting down in the chair behind the desk, the fight leaving her. 

"You didn't choose me Poe." She told him, thinking back on what happened.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, kneeling down in front of her, putting his hands on her waist, kind of but not really, pulling her closer. "You were the only thing I wanted."

Belle shook her head, tilting it as she put a hand on his cheek. "You didn't choose me. In the end you chose Zorii."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still have no idea where this is going.

It's been three days since Ben, being a moron, broke the window of his own shop. It has been three days since Belle had last seen Poe. And it has been three days since he kissed her on the forehead and walked away again. Belle keeps telling herself it's fine, it's what she expected. But the truth is, she didn't expect him to softly shake his head before muttering that she was wrong and kissing her on the forehead. It had taken her 3 years to get this man out of her every waking thought, but it only took 3 seconds for him to consume her all over again. She wanted to scream.

She was currently sitting in the back office chewing on the end of a pen, waiting for the contractors to finish replacing the window. She had managed to get in contact with someone to get the job done quicker than originally expected. Dealing with that should have been enough to keep her mind busy, but then there was Ben nagging her on top of everything else. She knew he was worried, knew that he was the one who had to pick up the pieces the last time she had let Poe destroy her. 

Rationally, Belle knew that she couldn't blame Poe for everything, but it makes her feel better. Besides, the only person she ever talks to about it is Ben, and he never liked Poe to begin with. He thought that Poe was trying to take advantage of her to get close to Leia. Belle never bothered to explain that Leia was the one that introduced them. 

Belle shook herself out of her thoughts, looking around the office. She had sent out a text in the group message earlier telling everyone to meet at the shop around 11, and here it was 11:30, and no one was there except her and the window people. She picked up her phone, screen lighting up to show her her background (a picture of her and Ben in their Halloween costumes), but no text messages. She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh, letting her phone drop back to the desk. She's not sure what she expected, but at least a text back would have been nice. 

She saw the workers finishing up on the window, so she picked up the phone to call Ben as she walked to the front of the shop. The phone rand a few times before going to voicemail.

" _This is Kylo. Leave a message._ "

Belle rolled her eyes at the short message as she stepped outside. "You need to get your ass here. Someone has to sign for this window, and it's not going to be me. Try me and I'll make sure you have to pay them twice the amount of money for wasting their time. Get here and drag the other fuckers with you."

She hung up the phone call after leaving the empty threat. She knew if he wasn't here within the next twenty minutes then she would just sign and let them go. No point in wasting everyone's time. 

"Do you always leave such idle threats?" an accented voice asked, drawing Belle's attention to the store front beside her. 

"What makes you think they're idle?" Belle asked Rey, sitting down beside her. 

Rey grinned and shook her head at Belle. "I grew up in the system, I know when a threat is real and when it's not."

Rey's comment made Belle pause. She had never heard anyone be so honest and uncaring at the same time. Belle could her the tightness in Rey's voice, but could see the resign on her face as well. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say.

Rey noticed Belle's hesitation. "It's okay. I forget that people don't really know how to respond when I do that. It happened, I'm over it. But my point about idle threats still stands."

Belle smiled at the girl. "You're right, it was an idle threat." she told her shrugging, "But as long as he shows up, I don't care."

"Your charming brother I take it?" She asked, rolling her eyes. 

Belle laughed. She liked Rey. She especially liked that Rey hated Ben. Belle loved her brother, but she needed him to be out of her business for a while, so maybe someone to fight with was exactly what Ben needed.

Belle looked up as Jannah's car pulled up to the curb. She could hear the loud music exploding from the car as the window rolled down to reveal all of her coworkers. If it were possible, Belle's eyes would have rolled into the back of her head and stayed there at this point. 

"What are you morons doing?" She asked, raising her voice over the music.

Hux, who was in the front seat, reached over and turned the music down. "We're going to the lake." 

"Yeah?" Belle asked, raising her eyebrows and tilting her head. 

"Yeah." Ben answered from where he was sitting in the backseat with Phasma. "And you're coming with us."

"Oh really?"

"Yes!" Jannah yelled, pushing Hux. "Hux'll even give you the front seat."

"The hell I will." 

"We decided that you needed to relax." Phasma said, sticking her head out the window. "Now Jan and I think you just need to get laid, but that idea makes your brother squeamish, so he nixed the idea."

Rey burst out laughing at hearing this, while Ben truly did look squeamish. Belle shook her head, laughing at her idiot co-workers. "I love you guys, and I appreciate the compassion and interest about my sex life, but if you aren't going to do any actual work today then I'm going home."

Her answer was revived a chorus of BOOS from all occupants of the car. Hux turned to Rey, who was still sitting. "What about you Scavenger? You want to go?"

"Fuck that!" Ben yelled from the backseat, causing Rey to grin. 

"As much as I'd like to cause Kylo pain," She answered, "I'm the only one here for the next few hours."

"You two suck." Jannah said, putting her sunglasses back on. 

"Are you sure we can't get you to go?" Ben asked Belle, hanging out the window. 

Belle patted him on top the head. "I'm good, go have fun."

Belle watched as car drove down the road out of sight. She let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding as she sat back down next to Rey. She rubbed her hands over her eyes, feeling the exhaustion from the last few days start to settle in. 

"You do look exhausted." Rey told her, offering Belle her water bottle. 

Belle smiled at the girl, but shook her head. "I'm okay. I just work a lot to avoid actually having a life."

"I get that." Rey said nodding. "Do you want to come hang out in the shop for a bit? I mean it's not anything fancy, but we have AC."

Belle thought about it for a moment. "You know what, sure. Let me just lock up."

~~~

Belle was laughing at something Rey had just said when the door opened, and in walked Finn followed by Poe and a pretty Asian girl. The three of them stood in the door way taking in the scene in front of them. Belle was sprawled out on an antique chaise lounge, while Rey was sitting in the floor throwing chocolate at Belle, who was trying to catch the pieces in her mouth. Of course every time she missed, they both broke out into laughter. 

"No, no, try again!" Rey laughed, breaking off another piece of chocolate. 

"What is going on here?" Finn asked, drawing the girls attention to him. "Belle what are you doing here? And is that chocolate?"

Belle froze, realizing that there were others there. "I...should go."

"What? No!" Rey said, trying to stop the girl from getting up "We were having fun."

"I think that that might be a good idea." Finn said, ignoring Rey. He glanced back at Poe, who was staring at Belle. She had melted chocolate on her chin that she hadn't noticed, and her top had ridden up from where she had been sitting. Not enough to be indecent, but enough that he had noticed. Her hair was also a little messy from the lounge. It reminded him of when they'd sneak off base and get a hotel room for the night. 

"Wait," The girl said, putting her hand up. "Belle? As in THE Belle?"

"I'm sorry?" Belle asked her brow furrowing in confusion. 

"Oh!" Poe said taking a step forward. "Belle this is Rose. She's Paige's sister."

"Oh!" She said, her face lighting up. Belle and Paige had been really close friends, but after Belle left Poe, she had cut everyone out of her life. "Right! I remember her talking about you. It's nice to finally meet you!"

"Yeah, I've heard so much about you." Rose said, moving closer. "Not only from Paige, but Poe too."

Belle glanced at Poe, who was looking anywhere but at her. Rey noticed this too, and tilted her head to the side, a smirk gracing her features. Rey didn't like to get into other people's business, but she liked Belle, and Poe was one of her best friends, so of course she felt the need to get involved. 

"Hey Belle," Rey said, drawing the girls attention. "So I know you've got a lot going on, but we're having a, well I wouldn't call it a party, but more like a get together at your moms place to celebrate opening the shop. You should come. I know Han's been wanting to see you, and I love hanging out with you, so it would be killing two birds with one stone. I'll even let you bring your brother."

Belle hesitated. She glanced at Finn and saw the same apprehensive look on his face that she was feeling. Belle watched Finn glance at Poe, who was doing his best to look nonchalant about the whole situation. She turned back to Rey to answer her, but must have hesitated too long, because Rose interjected. 

"That sounds amazing! Paige is going to be there and I know she'd love to see you."

"I'll think about it." Belle said after a few more minutes. She knew she wasn't going to go, but had to be polite. 

"Awesome," Rey said, grabbing Belle's phone where she had left it laying on the lounge. "I'm putting my number in your phone, and I'll text you the details."

Belle nodded, not paying her any real attention. She was uncomfortable and ready to leave the situation. Luckily enough, it didn't take Rey long and Belle was headed out the door waving goodbye behind her. 

~~~

"No mom." Belle answered for the third time that night. "He's not going to come with me."

"I'm just saying you could at least try to convince him." Leia argued over the phone.

Belle rolled her eyes, leaning over her bathroom sink to do her eyeliner. She was getting ready to go to her parents for dinner, and just like every other time, Leia was trying to convince her to bring Ben. She pulled away from the mirror, glancing up to see if it was alright. 

"Mom, he's a big boy. He can make his own decisions." Belle said, checking the time on her phone. 

Leia sighed, "Well it was worth a shot. How's your car?"

Belle had to put her car in the shop the day before do to something with the engine. She wasn't really sure what it was, just knew that her car wasn't drive-able and that Han was upset she didn't ask him to fix it. Of course she's already regretting the decision do to the cost. 

"They're overcharging me because I'm a girl." Belle said, rolling her eyes again. "They think I don't know anything. I'm honestly about to drop dads name just to cut through some of the bullshit."

"Language." Leia said, absentmindedly getting onto her, "Well, you should have just brought it to him to begin with. He's very upset about it."

"He'll get over it." Belle said, clipping her necklace around her neck. "Is dad still coming to pick me up?"

Leia was silent for a moment. "Your dad wasn't able to do it, so I sent someone else."

"Mom, I could have paid for my own taxi, you didn't have to do that." Belle argued slipping her shoes on.

"Oh, I didn't." Leia said, as a horn sounded from outside. 

"What do you mean you didn't?"

"It sounds like your ride is there." Leia said, ignoring the question. "And Belle, be nice."

Leia ended the phone call without waiting for a response, silently hoping that her daughter showed up at her house tonight. 

~~~ 

Belle flew down the stairs and out the buildings front, trying to figure out who was in the car. She looked at the headlights, lighting up the parking lot as she slowly moved to toward the car. Her hand tightened around her bag as she got close enough to see who was in the car. She stopped and let her head fall back. Looking up at the stars, she took a deep breath and got into the car. 

"Hey Princess."

"Poe." She said, looking at her feet. "Why'd she send you?"

Poe snorted. "I volunteered."

Belle jerked her head up turning her upper body to stare at him. He grinned at her, putting the car into gear and pulling out of the parking lot. She shook her head, not noticing that when he pulled out of the parking lot he turned the wrong way. 

"What do you mean you volunteered?" she asked shaking her head. "Why would you do that? What were you even doing there?"

"I think it's time that you and I got over this." He said, taking a sharp turn onto the interstate. 

"Where are we going?" Belle asked, finally noticing that they weren't going the right way.

"I'm kidnapping you." He said nonchalantly grinning at her. "With your parent's permission of course."

"What the fuck is going on?"

"You'll see."


	4. Chapter 4

"Will you at least tell me where we're going?" Belle asked, crossing her arms across her chest. 

Poe glanced at her from the drivers side, she looked pissed. He dropped one hand off the steering wheel, almost gripping her thigh but grabbed the gearshift instead. He grinned at her in answer to her question, speeding up the car. She was starting to panic and he could read her like a book. 

"Seriously Poe, where are we going?" She said, grabbing his arm to get his attention (as if she didn't already have it.) "I'm supposed to be at my moms."

He glanced over at her when she grabbed his arm, hand tightening around the steering wheel. This all felt far too familiar. "You'll get to your moms. I promise."

Still refusing to answer her question, she sighed throwing herself back against the seat. Poe rolled his eyes at the childishness of the entire situation. Everything about the situation he had put himself in, kept reminding him of the past. "Do you remember the time we drove out to Naboo? To visit your grandparents?"

"Naboo?" she asked brows furrowing, a blush spreading across her face. "Of course I remember that trip. It's the first time we said 'I love you'."

Poe grinned as her voice turned into a mutter. "I'm sorry, what was that? Can you speak a little louder?"

"Oh shut up." She said exasperated, a matching grin spreading across her face.

Belle studied him, the way his hair fell, the stubble growing across his face, the way he kept tapping his fingers against the steering wheel and the relaxed way he was sitting in the seat. It all reminded her of days well past. Days she simultaneously wanted to remember and forget. Especially the trip to Naboo. 

~~~

_"Okay, Okay," Poe said, laughing at the absolute nonsense that was coming out of her mouth. "So you're telling me that your grandmother was a Princess."_

_"No." Belle said, shaking her head. "She was a Queen."_

_"That can't possibly be true Belle." He said, shaking his head as they pulled off the highway. They were currently on their way to see said grandmother. This was the first time Poe was meeting anyone in Belle's family besides Leia and Han, so Belle was giving him a little bit of history._

_"It is!" She insisted, reaching over to feed him a fry. "You know how each district has their own laws and regulations."_

_"Yes, but Naboo is a democracy. They fall within the guidelines of the Republic." He reminded her, taking the fry between his teeth._

_"Yes, while Naboo is a democracy and they do have an elected leader, they elect Queen's not presidents, and they have an extremely young age requirement. It's kind of ridiculous actually, I mean grandma was only 14." She said, pulling another fry out and popping it into her mouth._

_Poe snorted, not believing a word she said, "What, so that makes you a princess?"_

_"I mean, no." Belle said, rolling her eyes at his amusement. "Technically, while she still holds the title Queen, like a president would, it's not a monarchy so the title doesn't travel down. Although, people did used to call mom Princess Leia."_

_"Okay Princess, if you say so." Poe said laughing as he took the turn leading to her grandparents home._

_"You're going to be eating your words Dameron." She said as he parked the car outside of what can only be described as a castle._

_His eyes widened when he saw the house, which was settled beside a lake. "You grew up here?"_

_"No, mom and uncle Luke did." She said, grinning at the disbelief on his face. "I grew up in Alderaan, in a house a little smaller than this."_

_Poe looked at her with wide eyes. "Your mom grew up here?"_

_"Yeah?" She said, unbuckling her seat belt._

_"But she's so down to earth."_

_"Apparently she used to be more uptight, but then she met dad and chilled out a bit." Belle said shrugging._

_"I mean yeah, Han's pretty hard to rile up." Poe said as they got out of the car. "I can't believe that he married into this though."_

_"Yeah, my grandpa hated him at first." Belle said, glancing at Poe. "He thought he was after mom for her money. Dad used to have a lot of legal problems." Poe raised an eyebrow. "Smuggling over district lines. Grandpa thought he would make mom look bad, her being a senator and all. He tends to forget he wasn't the best person before meeting grandma, but that's Anakin Skywalker for you."_

_"This man is going to hate me isn't he?" Poe asked stopping in his tracks._

_Belle glanced back at him. She grinned as she took his hand, pulling him forward. " He'll love you because I love you."_

_Belle watched Poe, slightly nervous as they haven't said the L word yet. She was happy to see his reaction, while shocked, wasn't unpleasant._

_"I love you too." He told her after a moment._

_Belle grinned at him. "Besides, it's grandma you have to watch out for."_

_~~~_

"We're almost there." Poe said quietly, pulling her out of the memory.

Belle nodded, looking out the window. The scenery wasn't much to look at, it looked like a place that still hadn't recovered from the war. There were still a lot of places like that out there. Belle had originally planned to go help out in the more war torn districts, cleaning up the mess that she had helped to create. However, after everything happened between her and Poe, all she wanted to do was disappear. So that's exactly what she had done. Her grandparents had passed away in a bombing that had hit Naboo's capital, wiping out several of the higher ranking officials and had left the home in Naboo to both her and Ben. She hid out there until Ben had shown up on the doorstep and practically drug her back to civilization. She still felt bad that she had never done her part in cleaning up after the war, another thing she blamed Poe for. 

Having gotten so lost in thought, she had almost missed the district sign as they passed it. Poe was even hoping she did, knowing that the likeliness of her killing him for this was high. Unfortunately for him, even lost in thought, Belle was observant. 

"You have got to be fucking kidding me." She said angrily, turning to glare at Poe. "Kijimi! What the fuck are you thinking?"

"I was thinking that we have a problem that we can't get past and that this will help." He said staring straight ahead, refusing to look at her. 

"And you think that taking me to see your fucking girlfriend is going to solve it?" She yelled, throwing her hands up. 

Poe sighed, "She's not my fucking girlfriend. This is your problem Belle, you get an idea and you get stuck on it. The hell with what everyone else says, because you have to be right. You never give anyone the chance to explain. You got this idea that I was in love with Zorii and let it come between us. I've known Zorii since we were kids, that's it."

"Look me in the eye and tell me you've never slept with her." Belle said sharply. 

Poe hesitated, glancing over at Belle. She was glaring at him, her arms crossed tight across her body. Her face might as well have been a blank mask, the only thing giving away her emotions was the anger radiating off of her. He sighed, shaking his head and looking back at the road. 

"That's what I thought." She said turning to sit straight in her seat. 

"Fine." He said staring at the road. "I've slept with her. We were always together and everyone expected it, so we did it."

"You don't have sex with someone you don't care about." Belle bit back, "Maybe some people can, but not you. At least you didn't use to."

"Rey needs to keep her damn mouth shut." Poe snapped, turning to glare at her.

"Rey doesn't have anything to do with this conversation!" Belle snapped back.

"Fine!" he yelled, "Of course I cared about her. She's one of my best friends, but I didn't love her."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? That's supposed to make it okay that she was always around?" 

"Just because..."

"Don't interrupt me." Belle snapped, "I've let you drag me out here, the least you could do is give me to courtesy to finish fucking speaking."

"Fine." He said, teeth gritted.

"I get that guys and girls can just be friends. I can take that at face value, but when you start finding things out about said friends, it makes it a little more difficult. Poe, you never answered my questions when it came to Zorii, so forgive me if I was a little insecure about it. It was obvious that you two have known each other forever. She knows things about you that I never will. That's something I could be okay with, but with you two, you could never let anyone else in. When you're in a relationship like the one we were in, you don't get to keep secrets with someone else. I was supposed to be the one you talked to, not the girl who very obviously hated me."

Poe was quiet for a few moments. "Are you done?" Belle nodded. "Okay, I get that you don't like Zorii and sure, maybe she didn't like you at first. But Belle, you're not the easiest person to get to know either. Sure, Zorii kept my secrets, she was my best friend for years, but after you and I got together I wasn't telling her anything that I wasn't telling you. Except maybe the fact that I wanted to fucking marry you. But you had to let something so fucking trivial get between us. For fucks sake Belle, you ended us because of Zorii fucking Bliss. The fact that you were jealous."

Poe parked the car in front of an apartment building, turning to look at her. Belle still had her arms crossed, she rolled her eyes, glaring at the windshield in front of her. 

"For fucks sake Belle, you're still jealous of her. So now, we're going to go in there and talk to her so we can finally get over this shit."

Belle jumped when a knock sounded on the window. She glanced out and saw a tall, willowy, blonde woman waving at them. Zorii Bliss. Poe got out of the car and hugged her. Belle watched them talk for a few moments, Poe glancing at Belle every few moments. Poe obviously hadn't told the woman why we had come all this way judging by the look on her face. She glanced at Belle still sitting in the car, a hard look on her face before turning back to Poe and giving him a stiff nod. 

Poe walked around the car, pulling Belle's door open. "C'mon."

Belle ran through the options in her head, before unbuckling her seat belt obviously realizing that there wasn't any escaping this. Stepping out of the car she nodded at Zorii before following her up to her apartment. Poe following behind her. Almost like they were afraid she'd take off running if they didn't cage her in. Belle stifled a laugh at the thought, because it's quite possible they were right.

~~~

“He didn’t tell you why we were coming did he?” Belle asked from where she was sitting on the couch.

When they walked into the apartment Belle sat down and hadn’t moved. She watched as Poe and Zorii caught up, being able to tell they hadn’t seen each other in a while. She looked around the small apartment. While it may have been small, the way it was decorated made it feel much larger than it was. It felt very homey.

“No, he didn’t.” Zorii responded in a clipped tone. “I didn’t even know he was bringing you.”

Belle nodded as she watched the blonde leave the room to join Poe who was in the kitchen. Belle got up and wandered around the small living area that was only able to fit a couch and small chair. She wandered around the room looking at the pictures hanging on the wall, a small smile gracing her face at the ones of Zorii and Poe at different stages in their lives. As she moved around the room, she noticed a petite Asian girl show up in the later photos. Something about the girl looked familiar.

“You know Paige don’t you?” Zorii asked from behind her, causing Belle to jump.

“I thought she looked familiar.” Belle said, turning around to look at her. “I didn’t realize that you knew her too.”

“Yeah, she’s my girlfriend.” Zorii shrugged, moving to sit down.

“I’m sorry, what?” Belle asked skeptically.

Zorii grinned at the disbelief in Belle’s voice, gesturing for her to sit down. Belle frowned, but sat down across from her, waiting for her to speak.

“Yep.” Zorii said, pulling out her phone and showing Belle pictures of her and Paige. “I’m super gay.”

“Since when?” Belle asked her, handing her phone back.

“Well,” Zorii shrugged. “I’ve always been into girls and there for a while I thought I was into guys, but then I met Paige.”

“So, you’re bisexual?”

“Technically.”

Belle and Zorii sat there staring at each other. Belle wasn’t sure where this conversation was going, and Zorii was waiting for Belle to make a move.

“So, how long have you and Paige been together?” Belle finally asked, leaning back into the couch cushions.

“About 2 years.” Zorii told her, a small smile gracing her features. “But that’s not what you want to ask is it?”

“I don’t…”

“You want to ask me about Poe.” Zorii finished, interrupting her.

Belle stared at her, her face going blank. Zorii watched the emotion leave Belle’s face, realizing that this is how Belle has dealt with the separation, by shutting down every time someone mentions it. She also noticed that Belle glanced at the kitchen door when she had said it, showing that she still finds some comfort in Poe.

“Maybe we should wait for Poe if we’re going to have that conversation.” Belle said, turning her attention back to Zorii.

“I sent him to pick up Paige.” Zorii told her, getting up and moving to the liquor cabinet. “I thought we should have this conversation in private.” She handed Belle a cup full of amber liquid.

“Of course you did.” Belle said, taking the cup and downing its contents. Zorii refilled her cup as the two sat down.

“So,” Zorii started, nodding at Belle. “I think we both know that you didn’t end things with Poe just because you were jealous of me. I’m not saying that wasn’t a part of it, but that wasn’t the reason.” When Belle didn’t say anything, Zorii asked, “So what was it? And why is Poe convinced that I’m the reason?”

Belle sighed. “I’m not getting out of having this conversation with you, am I?”

“Nope.” Zorii said, popping the P. “Not if you ever want to make it to your moms.”

“Fine.” She said sighing. “He thinks it’s your fault, because he’s an idiot.”

“Well yeah.”

“Do you remember the night before I ended it?”

“Yeah.” Zorii said frowning. “It was so stupid. My ex was pretty abusive, and I hadn’t heard from him in a few months, but I had gone out that night and saw him. I called Poe because I needed calmed down. He came up and spent the night with me. Obviously, nothing happened, he was so in love with you that you’re all he talked about that night. Why?”

Belle sighed. “I didn’t know that that’s what happened, and I’m sorry that you went through that, but I’m not sorry for how I feel about it.” Zorii nodded, still confused. “That night was our first night off in months. It was near the end of the war and mom didn’t want to give anyone time off because we were so close to getting done. We had made plans a few weeks before, because we obviously never got to celebrate any of the holidays or birthdays because of work.”

“And he blew you off for me.” Zorii said, finishing off her thought. “And not for the first time.”

Belle nodded, biting her lip. “I get that you went through a shitty thing, and I would have been fine if he had just called you, but he cancelled a date that we had planned for weeks, and like you said, not for the first time. It didn’t help that I kind of hated you.”

“The feeling was mutual.”

Belle snorted. “I know why I hated you. You have a part of him that I will never get to have. Why do you hate me?”

Zorii grimaced, “I hated you because you blew into his life and he wasn’t the same. I realize now, that maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing, especially since he regressed so much after you two split. He was different, you’re all he talked about, and I blamed you for him changing. I think that’s why I interfered so much. You might have been jealous, but so was I. I don’t hate you anymore if that helps.”

“Zorii,” Belle sighed, “Looking back, I don’t think it would have worked out between me and Poe anyway. He was too invested in his job and you for anything else to matter as much. And I’m the type of girl who needs to be important enough for somebody to choose them.”

“He’s a fucking idiot.” Zorii said, rolling her eyes, “And so are you.”

“What?”

“You really don’t get it do you?” She asked. When Belle just stared at her she continued. “That man was getting ready to ask you to marry him. He had the ring and everything. He was choosing you.”

“Then why…”

“Why did he blow you off that night?” Zorri finished for her. “Part of it was his stupidity and me being a bitch. I knew how he felt about you and you never made it secret that you hated me, so I was being petty. When he was here that night, he was telling me how he was going to propose to you, and well I told him that he was making a mistake, that you’d just break his heart. I knew that I had went too far. Belle, he was ready to cut me out of his life.”

“Why didn’t he tell me any of this?” Belle asked quietly.

“From what he’s told me, you didn’t really give him the chance to.” Zorii said shrugging. “You ended things and had your mom move your point of contact, so you didn’t have to see him. The war ended not long after and you disappeared. No one knew where you were until about 6 month ago.”

Belle nodded, staring at the carpet. Both girls were silent, each lost in their own thoughts. They both looked up when the front door opened and in walked Paige followed by Poe, both laughing.

“Belle!” Paige yelled when she noticed her, throwing herself at the girl. “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Hi Paige.” Belle said laughing as she wrapped her arms around the girl. “It’s a long story, but I missed you too!”

Paige pulled back, giving Belle a once over before nodding. She pulled out her phone and handed it to Belle, “Put your number in here, and give me your phone.”

Belle laughed but did as she asked. When she was done putting her number in Paige’s phone she glanced up at Poe, who seemed to be having a silent conversation with Zorii. Paige noticed that she had lost Belle’s attention and announced that she was going to go take a shower.

“We need to make a date!” Paige said giving Belle another hug. “It was so good seeing you, so don’t disappear on me again.”

Belle nodded, making eye contact with Paige who seemed very sincere. Silence engulfed the room as Paige left. Everyone was waiting for the other to speak.

“You two are fucking idiots.” Zorii finally said, breaking the silence.

“What did I do?” Poe asked defensively.

Belle and Zorii both turned to look at him. “You’re kidding right?” Zorii asked him. “You know what, no. You two need to work your shit out. At this point, it has nothing to do with me. Belle, if you two work your shit out, and end up back together, just know that you don’t have to worry about me. As far as I’m concerned, we’re good.” The girls shared a smile as Zorii turned on Poe, “Poe, take this girl to her mother’s before she sends out a search party.”

“Are you throwing me out?” Poe asked, gawking at her.

“Yes I am.” Zorii told him matter-of-factly. “I know I caused a lot of this, but next time leave me out of the drama, and don’t just drop this kind of shit on someone. If Belle and I weren’t fucking adults, this could have gone a different way. So yes, get out.”

~~~

“Are you going to tell me what happened?” Poe asked, as they pulled back out onto the highway.

“We talked.”

“No shit.” Poe muttered, glaring at the windshield.

“You don’t get to be angry about this.” Belle sighed, looking out the window, her voice lacking anger.

“Oh, I don’t?” Poe asked, turning to glare at her. “I brought you here to get answers, but it seems like you two figured everything out and I’m getting left in the dark.”

“Poe.” Belle sighed, “I didn’t ask for this. You literally kidnapped me, drug me out here, and forced me into an emotional confrontation that I was not in any way prepared for. I don’t want to talk about this, I want to go home so I can cry in private.”

“Babe,” Poe said, gripping her thigh. “I…”

“Poe, just don’t,” Belle said, gripping his hand. “Please.”

Poe looked back at the windshield, intertwining their fingers. “Okay.”

They drove back in silence, holding hands the entire way. Belle sighed into the comfort of the car, turning to observe Poe. He still looked tense, obviously still wanting to know what had happened between her and Zorii, but not wanting to push the issue. He had never been good when Belle would cry.

“We talked about you. Obviously.” Belle quietly said. “She said you were going to ask me to marry you.”

“She told you that?” He asked nervously.

“Yeah.” Belle said, her grip tightening on his hand. “She was explaining that you were making a choice and that you were willing to cut her out of your life for me. I didn’t want you to do that. I’d never ask you to.”

“I know.” He said, interrupting her rambling. “I wasn’t going to do it for you. I was doing it for me. I’m not stupid Belle, I know you two didn’t get along. I just didn’t realize how much you didn’t like each other until that night.”

Belle was looking out the window, silently taking in his words. She was confused, she was still angry, but, if asked, wouldn't be able to deny the fact that she still loved him. She slid her hand out from under his, causing him to glance at her as she pulled her phone out to call someone. 

"Hello?" Came a gruff voice after a few rings.

"Hey daddy." Belle said into the mouthpiece.

"Hey baby girl, what's up?" He asked, "You on your way here?"

"Actually daddy, it's been a long night, I think I'm going to go home." Belle said, pulling at a thread on her pants. "I'll come see you tomorrow."

Han was silent for a beat. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just tired." She said, glancing over at Poe, who was staring at the road in front of him.

"Okay." Han said after another pause. "I'll let your mom know. Do you need a ride tomorrow?" 

"No," Belle told him, still looking at Poe. "Poe will bring me."

He glanced at her, shock on his face. He didn't think she'd want anything to do with him after tonight. He gave he a quick nod, noticing that she was waiting for him to respond. 

"Okay baby," Han said slowly, not expecting that to be her response. "If that's what you want. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright, love you!" Belle said, hanging up the phone.

Poe waited for her to say something, to at least acknowledge that she was letting him back into her life. After a few moments of silence, he pulled the car off to the side of the road. Throwing the car in park, he fully turned to look at her, giving her his full attention as he asked his next question. 

"Are you letting me back into your life?"

Belle's eyes were wide, not expecting him to pull off the road, or to throw that question at her. "I..."

"I just want to be prepared for whatever's about to happen." Poe told her, "I don't want to go down this road with you if it's all going to end the same way. I just can't do it babe."

"Whoa, hold on." Belle said, throwing up her hands as if to stop him, "Poe, I'm saying that we can try to be friends. That's it."

"Just friends?" He blinked. 

"Yes." She said, holding eye contact. "And as childish as this is going to sound, I think we should keep it between us for now. I just don't want to have to explain to everyone that all of a sudden we're friends now. I don't even know how to explain it, because I have no idea how we even got here."

Poe slowly nodded, taking in what she had to say. "That makes sense. Finn's not exactly your biggest fan and there's no way your brother is ever going to like me."

"That's true."

"So friends." He asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "For how long?"

"What do you mean?"

Poe grinned at her. "Babe, when we met, we were friends for about 10 minutes before you decided you wanted to jump me."

"You're a dick." Belle said laughing, "And thank you very much I had some self control. It was longer than 10 minutes."

"Yeah, like 11." Poe laughed, pulling that car back onto the road. 

"Oh shut up," Belle told him, rolling her eyes. "That's not going to happen this time. We're just going to be friends. I think we've made it pretty obvious that we can't be in a relationship."

"Whatever you say," He grinned, pausing for dramatic effect. "Princess." 


End file.
